Let Me Help You
by Believe4Ever
Summary: "Why?" My voice was so faint and quiet that even I could barely hear it above the alarms. "Why did you have to do that . . .?" Why did you have to save me? *Chulu! Sort-of-tragic.*
1. Chapter 1

**I was recently introduced to the pairing of Chulu. With the first fiction of it that I read, I fell deeply in love and I immediately sought to read more of this incredibly adorable couple. I was greatly disappointed to find the sheer ****_miniscule _****amount of Chulu fictions on this website! So I took it upon myself to add even just couple drabbles—and perhaps an eventual longer story—of Chulu to share with the small shipping community.**

**Anyhow, I'll stop my babbling and allow you to read my first Chulu story! For some unknown reason I always write my first fiction in a new fandom with tragic aspects—tragedy being my secret pleasure. I promise that the next Chulu story will be more fluff, for those of you that don't enjoy tragic stories as much.**

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_Dammit, how did this happen?!_

"Chekov, open your eyes." I bent over the young boy. Even with everything going on around me—snapped cables shooting sparks everywhere, small fires from overheated circuits blazing in corners, alarms blaring, people rushing past in a havoc—all of my attention was focused on _him. _

_Please, please . . ._

His curled blonde hair was mopped red with blood that trickled from the blow to his skull. His usual adorable baby face looked far more mature than it had a few hours ago, and his smooth pale face was blemished with bruises and small cuts from the debris that had flown past him. His yellow shirt, which he had always pressed and kept clean every day, was now filthy with dust and holes were ripped throughout the fabric.

_Open your eyes!_

The seventeen-year-old gave a faint cough and his eyelids opened. Those brilliant bright eyes, so full of intelligence, were now crossed and fuzzy. He didn't seem to be focused on anything. "H-Hikaru . . .?" Good, he recognized me. But . . . why my first name? He had never called me such a thing before . . .

_Please just hold on, please . . ._

"Y-You're going to be okay." I gripped his hand tightly, the quiver entering my voice so painfully obvious. "It's going to be okay."

_Dammit, Chekov, why'd you do it . . .? Why did you have to be so stupid and so _heroic_?_

A smile played across his lips like a beautiful melody. Even in such a grim time like this he still managed to keep that cheerful air around him. "It's okay . . . I know you'll take care of me . . ."

_Don't talk like I'm a doctor; I'm not, Pavel, I'm not . . .!_

Tears filled my eyes and I tried to blink them away, tried not to let him show the sheer _fear _and _pain _that was filling in my gut. One drop escaped from my attempt to lock them away and landed on his cheek. It dribbled down his skin and made it look like it was _him_ that was crying. His smile still didn't waver.

_Don't do this to me . . ._

"Why?" My voice was so faint and quiet that even I could barely hear it above the alarms. "Why did you have to _do_ that . . .?"

_Why did you have to save me?_

"It was simple math . . . Hikaru . . ." His voice was getting more strained but he continued to attempt to focus on me; his eyes corrected themselves whenever they strayed from my face.

_What are you going off about? What the hell does _math _have to do with this?!_

"The explosion . . . it was building . . ." he continued. "The pressure in the pipes . . . I saw the valves as we ran . . . I knew you'd take too much damage if you continued at your speed . . . I-I couldn't let you get hurt . . ."

_No, no . . . Please, don't talk like this with me Pavel!_

His voice had gotten even quieter. I had to lean down to even hear him. His breath was warm against my cheek. "So I pulled you back . . . Behind me . . . You were . . . a-are safe, I see . . ." Then there was that brilliant smile, the radiance of his ever optimism burning into my eyes and pounding my brain, making me suffer.

_I know you had good intentions but . . . You're simply a child . . ._

"We'll make it through this . . ." His voice faded and eyes slid shut. I felt fear impair my breathing rate and I felt my body start to gasp for air and my exhales were so shaky and choppy. Fresh tears poured into my eyes and I pulled his body up, hugging him tightly as a wail through itself out of my lips. My hand cradled his head against my shoulder, fingers running through his soft, wet hair. His arms fell limply to his sides.

_This can't happen . . . Pavel can't die . . . He just _can't! _He's simply a child!_

My vision darkened and suddenly it was as if something else took over my body. I recognized this feeling. It had taken me over before; when Captain Kirk and I had gone down to destroy the Romulan's drill. Something else had taken over my body and something else caused me to fight and destroy those Romulans. It was a violent need to survive—to allow my _friends _to survive.

_Hang on to any thread you have, Pavel._

As I stood, cradling Chekov in my arms like a sleeping child, a distant memory played faintly through my mind. It was an old story my grandfather used to tell me. _"Listen carefully to me, Hikaru," _he would often tell me. _"Our family has always been put into violent situations. Our family is drawn to excitement, to exhilaration. Because of this we have discovered a deeper power in ourselves. Every human is hardwired for survival. Everyone has that primal instinct to live on. But ours is more powerful. We are taken over by spirits of our ancestors and they share in our pain, in our fear, in our _want _and _need _to live. They help us get through the situations. But you're even more special, Hikaru. Your instinct doesn't activate when you are to die. Your instinct activates when someone you care for is about to die."_

_Ever wise, Grandfather?_

I remembered feeling angered by that. Feeling that my ancestors didn't care for me enough to help me when I needed it, and only would help me when someone _else _was in danger. But I understood, then. I understood why the spirits only responded to me when others were in danger. It was because I cared for _them _far more than I did for _myself. _Even when I am about to be taken down by someone, I don't feel that overwhelming fear that I did now when seeing Chekov dying in my arms.

_Thank you, my family. Thank you . . ._

When I finally came back to my senses and I could tell what exactly was happening, I found that I was in the Medical Bay. This part of the ship wasn't completely falling apart, but it was still rocking about violently.

"_Sulu!_" McCoy screamed in my ear. I blinked and looked at him, a little shocked at the volume of his voice.

"W-What?"

"My God, man! I've been screaming at you for two minutes but you just stared blankly! Let go of the boy!"

I blinked again and looked down. Chekov was still in my arms, looking sickeningly pale. My fingers were latched onto his arm and hooked protectively around the bend of his knees. A couple other doctors were trying to pry him away from me. I let out another shaky breath, which I hadn't realized I had been holding, and let my muscles relax, releasing him. The doctors took the boy and immediately brought him over to a bed to treat him.

"What came over you?" Doctor McCoy demanded, giving me a glare. "You've never been so out of it!"

I gave no reply. My breathing was heavy and I felt a little lightheaded. I couldn't answer him; even if I could, he would never believe that my ancestors' spirits had helped me get Chekov here. McCoy's face turned into concern.

"You don't look well, Sulu. Sit down. You look like you've lost some blood."

_Lost blood . . .? When?_

I did as the doctor asked and he examined me. He gave a cry of surprise and informed me that I had a large gash on my back that had been bleeding profusely. That must've happened when I flew back after the explosion. Something must've cut into my back. I hadn't even noticed the pain until he pointed it out, which is when the pain started to dig into me. It must've been the adrenaline and fear that I would lose the boy that had kept the pain away from my mind.

"Pavel . . . He will be all right?" My voice was gasping for air. What was wrong with me?

"Pavel? Oh, Chekov. Yes, he'll be all right . . . Sulu, tell me what's wrong."

"I-I . . ." Tears filled my eyes once more for some unknown reason. What was going on with me? He just said Pavel would be fine and yet . . .

"Hikaru Sulu. Tell me what is wrong." McCoy walked around the table to look me dead in the eyes. "Where does it hurt? Why is your breathing so irregular?"

I stared at him but my vision had already started to blur. Before I knew it, my vision had gone black.

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**Well . . . This supposed-to-be one-shot ended up taking a turn for the long-run. I doubt this story would be longer than three chapters . . . In fact, the next chapter would be more centered on Chekov. Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of this newly extended story. Reviews are greatly appreciated, especially considering this is my first Chulu fiction and I am unfamiliar with exactly how fans prefer to portray their relationship. In this story I have it where they aren't dating—if you hadn't figured it out—but they obviously cared for each other. Constructive criticism and comments on what you thought are very much needed! Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Something interesting I found is that the song 'Carry You Home' by James Blunt described the previous chapter very well (well, at least the chorus did) . . . Oh well. You can listen to it if you're interested.**

**This chapter jumps a little. It starts out in Chekov's point-of-view just before the explosion and then switches to McCoy's point of view to just when Sulu entered the Medical Bay. Sorry for the jump, but the chapter was too short to just have Chekov's POV. Please read, enjoy, and review!**

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"We have to move _now!_" I cried as I glanced at Sulu. His eyes were wide and frazzled. He didn't even say anything; only nodded.

The two of us ran out of the room and down the hall. We had to get to the Bridge. If these attacks didn't cease soon, the entire ship could go up in flames. It wasn't likely that just the two of us could do much to affect the outcome of this whole catastrophe, but we still needed to get back where we needed. It had simply been a quick patrol for threats and it turned into such a disaster!

_Gasses are overheating, _I observed, noticing the sudden increase in temperature. I glanced at valves of pipes as we sprinted through the Engineering Deck. The needle was steadily turning toward the Red Zone. Too much pressure build-up could result in an explosion. My eyes slid over to the exit we were trying to reach. There was a large pipe where all the main pressure would located. When it built to exploding, the pipe would burst and shrapnel would expel, slamming into anything in its path.

My heart skipped a beat out of fear when I calculated that we had less than fifteen seconds to get through the exit—but even at our fastest speed it would take half a minute at least. My pulse started to accelerate when I saw that Sulu was ahead of me. He obviously didn't realize what was happening. He would get hit with the brunt of the attack at close range. He would be killed instantaneously.

"No, no, no!" I shrieked, reaching out and grabbing the back of Sulu's shirt.

I saw his surprised face as he was jerked back, nearly thrown off balance. I sped around, turning on my heel to face him. Our eyes met for a moment, dark against bright, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Before he could even open his mouth, a deafening roar filled our ears and the pipe burst. A blast of air threw us four feet in the direction we had just come from. I felt something hard and sharp smash against my skull and everything went black.

As I slowly came to, the first thing I saw was Sulu's worried expression. I've never seen him look so frightened. For a moment I feared that he had gotten hurt as well. The emotions well up inside of me and before I could correct my choice of words, I murmured, "H-Hikaru . . .?"

"Y-You're going to be okay," he assured me, gripping my hand tightly. I could hear the shakiness in his voice. I wanted to tell him not to be so sad, or worried, or scared, all because of me. We didn't know each other well, right? We only saw each other on the Bridge; even our sleeping quarters were far apart, so we rarely passed each other in the halls except on business. But it still pained me so much to see him put through this.

I tried to give him a smile, even just to assure him that I would be all right. I was disappointed to find that it only seemed to upset him more. So I tried to speak, to tell him anything to lift his spirits in such a horrible situation: "It's okay . . . I know you'll take care of me . . ."

But even so, tears came into his eyes. One of the salty drops fell onto my cheek. I didn't try to wipe it away and instead let it slide down my cheek. I just continued my smile. I hoped it would give him just a little hope and that he'd return the smile to me, that cute smile he'd give. Rarely would he smile for real; it was almost always fake smiles. Then again, so were mine. No one seemed to notice mine, though . . .

"Why?" His voice was soft, but even in my state I could hear him. "Why did you have to _do _that?"

Of course, he was referring to my pulling him back. There was that same feeling, back in the pit of my stomach. Conflicting emotions. I felt I couldn't let him die, and yet there was no reason for me to feel such a thing for someone I barely knew. I wanted to cry for him, to always be happy for him, to caress his dirty cheek . . . But why? Why did I feel such strange emotions?

"It was simple math . . . Hikaru . . ." I finally murmured. It was getting harder to breathe, but I kept my eyes trained on him. On Sulu. On Hikaru. "The explosion . . . it was building . . . The pressure in the pipes . . . I saw the valves as we ran . . . I knew you'd take too much damage if you continued at your speed . . ." I fought the quiver that was trying to insert itself into my voice. "I-I couldn't let you get hurt . . ."

A small buzz filled my ears and my vision was fluctuating from dark to clear. I could feel my voice fading, though I kept trying to keep the volume up. I couldn't. Then he leaned down, his face so close to mine. He smelled nice, like eucalyptus trees. It brought back fond memories of my childhood and I found that a couple tears were pushing their way into my eyes, glistening my vision.

"So I pulled you back . . . Behind me . . . You were . . ." I gulped, correcting my tenses, "a-are safe, I see . . ." I gave another forced smile. I hoped to God that he couldn't tell it was fake. I'd practiced time after time; no one ever noticed whether or not it was fake. No one had seen my actual smile since I was a boy. "We'll make it through this . . ."

My eyes slid shut. I was too exhausted to keep them open. I was drifting off into unconsciousness, but I could still hear what was going on around me, though it was echoing. I heard Sulu's breathing suddenly change, almost to hyperventilation. My body was numb, but I could feel the sense of being pulled up. Pain shot through my skull as I felt something press against the back of my head where my wound was.

The last thing I clearly remember was a pained wail in such a voice that I identified it as Sulu's . . .

()()()

I looked up to see Sulu run into the Medical Bay. "Doctor McCoy!" he called, my name echoing in the room. For a moment I thought the man was holding some kind of weapon in his arms, but I quickly realized that it was Chekov, bloody and passed out, that the man was holding. Nurses and doctors rushed over, trying to take the boy from Sulu's arms, but the man wouldn't release him. His eyes were distant and bloodshot.

"Sulu." My voice was commanding and I walked over. The Asian man didn't move. "Sulu!" Still, he didn't even blink. What was wrong with him? I had never seen him in such a state. "_Sulu!"_

Finally he came out of his trance. It took a little more talking, but I finally got Sulu to release Chekov and sit down, telling him what happened. That's when I discovered the nasty wound on his back. It was a deep stabbing wound that left his back drenched in blood. No wonder Sulu had looked so exhausted.

"Pavel . . . He will be all right?" Sulu sounded completely out of breath.

My eyebrows rose a little. "Pavel?" Realization hit me. "Oh, Chekov. Yes, he'll be all right . . ." I looked at him, concerned. As I took his pulse, his heart rate was accelerating. "Sulu, tell me what's wrong."

"I-I . . ." Tears suddenly filled his eyes and I was taken aback. What in the world was going on with this man? Had something else hurt him to bring up such strange behaviors?

"Hikaru Sulu. Tell me what is wrong." I walked around right in front of him, making him look at me straight in the eyes. His pupils were quickly dilating. "Where does it hurt? Why is your breathing so irregular?"

Sulu didn't even answer me. His mouth started to open as if he was going to say something, but his eyes rolled back into his skull and he slumped forward. I caught him firmly by the shoulders and barked to some nurses to stop the bleeding on the wound from his back immediately. Sulu definitely wasn't in good condition, but my priority was to make sure everyone was going to be okay during such a crisis, and Chekov had been in far worse condition.

The other doctors had already begun surgery on Chekov. Luckily the skull hadn't shattered from whatever had hit him, but there was a small crack in the bone. Not a big enough crack to be life-threatening, only big enough to give him some serious pain. Whatever had hit him must've been big and heavy.

The doctors were busy cleaning the wound and extract any debris that had embedded itself before they could get to healing the skin. A few nurses were cleaning Sulu's back wound and preparing him for stitches. Then of course there was every other injured person that had been in the bay already, plus about two more coming in every minute, each one looking worse than the last.

"Who the hell is attacking us?!" I demanded under my breath. I knew that I shouldn't be leaving the bay, though I desperately wanted to find out what was going on that was causing so many injuries in such a short period of time.

My attention looked to Chekov, then to Sulu. A small smile was on the boy's lips—something I could not even begin to comprehend, because he was so very close to death when he was brought in—and a couple tears dripped from Sulu's closed eyes.

_What is going through their heads?_

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**Reviews as to what's happened—both in Chekov's POV and Bones'—is very much appreciated. It really helps me to know what you guys think when you read the story. Please comment; thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a dream chapter! This chapter is broken up into two different parts like the last chapter. One half is Chekov's dream, and the other is Sulu's dream.**

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_"Now how did I get here?" I mumbled as I looked around. I remembered that I was on the Enterprise—in the middle of a horrible crisis, in fact—yet as I looked around I found I was in a meadow with the sun brightly shining high above. I remember these kinds of days from when I was a child. My parents would tell me to go out and play with my friends, though I had none. Everyone at school always thought my accent was strange and never wanted to play with me. So I'd run around alone instead. My parents never noticed._

_No one ever noticed little Pavel Chekov._

_I started walking through the tall grass, the tufts of greenery soft as clouds as they rubbed against my legs. I remembered the grass feeling like this back home, too._

_"Where is everyone? Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, Lieutenant Uhura, Doctor McCoy, Hika . . . err, Mr. Sulu?"_

_There was no answer to my voice. The meadow seemed endless; simply grass as far as the eye could see._

_Suddenly my attention was snagged by a distant voice calling happily, "Pavel!"_

_I knew that voice. Where had I heard that voice . . .? I heard it coming from ahead, just over a grassy hill that had suddenly sprung from nowhere. My feet carried me, my speed increasing for a reason I wasn't fully aware of. Who was calling me?_

_As I came over the hill I found Sulu was sitting at the base of the incline, smiling up at me. I felt my heart flutter a little. Now, that was strange. Why did I suddenly feel so overjoyed to see him?_

_"Come on, Pavel," Sulu laughed, waving me over. I approached him a little cautiously._

_"Where are we?" I asked. "I thought we were on the Enterprise."_

_"The Enterprise? You must've fallen asleep over there, Pavel." He laughed. "We've been here together the whole time."_

_There was that flutter again. That certainly was strange . . ._

_"But, where are we, sir?"_

_Sulu stood. "You said somewhere near your parents' house . . . What's with the 'sir'? Don't you call me 'Hikaru'?" He gave a wink and held his hand out to me. Still feeling confused, and utterly surprised at his behavior, I took his hand. It was warm and smooth, yet firm and protective as he squeezed my fingers. "Come on. You were going to tell me some stories."_

_We began to walk through the grass, holding hands. As I told him some stories of my childhood, I couldn't help but feel something strange erupting in my chest. My heart was beating faster and faster. I felt like I couldn't breathe while staying so close to him. A feeling of excitement and exhilaration was clenching around me along with the shock that he was being so close to me. I couldn't quite remember what this feeling was called . . ._

_"Love," Sulu said. I stopped mid-story and looked at him._

_"W-What?"_

_He turned toward me and smiled. "What you're feeling. It's love."_

_"M-Mr. Sulu—"_

_"Hikaru."_

_"H-Hikaru . . . I don't think I'm in love with—"_

_"Come now." He looked away and lifted his gaze toward the sky. "Don't lie to me. Just try and tell me that what you're feeling isn't a mix of a want of lust and a need for comfort with someone you find appealing by both appearance and personality." I gave him an amazed look and he laughed. "Tell me you don't love me, Pavel."_

_I opened my mouth before I realized._

_I couldn't tell him._

()()()

_Pavel._

_Where was he?_

_What happened?_

_Where was _I?

_I looked around, finding that I was, in all places, a hospital. The walls were white and bare. The tile floor was shined to perfection. Windows let in an enormous amount of light. Yet there was no one around. I was standing in the lobby but there was no receptionist or patients or families waiting to be admitted._

_I was alone._

_"Where are you, Pavel?" I muttered as I started to wander the halls. I needed to find someone. Anyone. _

_I didn't find anyone in the halls. Every room that I passed I looked inside, just to try and find someone anywhere in this hospital. All of them were neat and orderly, but _empty.

_"Hello?" I called again, starting to get more frantic. I was getting on edge, dying to find someone. Never before had I ever felt so alone._

_Finally the hall came to an end, and I came to one last door. This door had no label on it; not even a door number. Since it was my last chance, I opened the door and walked inside. The minute I had made it in the room, I stopped short and felt like I couldn't breathe._

_Pavel Chekov was lying on the ground. The floor was drenched in blood. The red was even staining some of the walls. His beautiful pale skin was painted by the deathly color and his eyes looked glassy and bright, staring up at the ceiling._

_No one else was in the room._

_"P-Pavel," I stuttered, eyes wide. Tears sprung into my eyes, immediately falling. "This . . . n-no . . . It can't . . ."_

_I fell to my knees, the blood rising up and drenching my pants. I crawled over and my hand searched for his, which had disappeared beneath a sea of red. I finally found it and I squeezed the hand, more tears blurring my eyes. His eyes almost seemed to bore into my own._

You didn't save me, _came the young boy's voice._

_I froze. "W-hat . . .?" I stared down at Chekov but his lips didn't move._

You didn't save me. You killed me.

_"This . . . No, I . . . I tried, Pavel, I did . . ." The blood was rising, his body floating up with it. Now the liquid was soaking the front of my shirt._

You put me here. They did nothing. There was _no one _here to help me.

_"Pavel, please, I didn't know!" The blood was up to my chin._

You knew. You knew when you brought me here.

_The red was now over my head and so thick I could see nothing by Chekov, whose body was floating above me now. I couldn't breathe. Suddenly his eyes turned into a glare and he spat at me, "YOU KILLED ME!"_

()()()

I shot up, screams erupting from my lips. Suddenly a hand clamped over my mouth, cutting off the sound. I found that my hand was clenched around another hand. My eyes looked over to find McCoy staring at me, a little frightened, but extremely concerned.

"M-McCoy?" I mumbled, voice obscured by his hand. Slowly he brought it down and I coughed, saying again, "McCoy?"

"That was some wake-up," the doctor sighed, easing me back to laying down in the bed. "Would you mind letting go of my hand?"

I gulped and nodded, releasing his hand, which had gone pale from little circulation. I must've been gripping it extremely hard. As I lay on the bed, my body was still shaking from the fright of my dream.

"That must have been some nightmare," McCoy observed, double checking my vitals.

"Y . . . Yeah . . ." My breath caught in my throat. "P-Pavel . . . Is he . . .?"

"Chekov is fine, Lieutenant. We got the bleeding under control and he should be fully healed in a couple days."

"He won't be l-left alone, right . . .?"

"Of course not. There's always a doctor in the bay."

I let out a sigh of relief and with all of that lifted off of my mind, I suddenly felt exhausted yet again. Before I drifted off, however, I noticed that the shaking had stopped. "Have they finally solved the problem? Whatever was attacking the ship?"

The doctor nodded. "You've been out for a long time; they finally got away from those blood-sucking aliens a while ago."

"How long ago?"

"About two days."

()()()

It was several more hours before I finally awoke. I had a dull pain in the back of my skull and the doctors had explained what had happened, and how I was lucky to be alive. My only thought was that Sulu had saved me. He had _saved _me! It was almost too good to be true.

After a while Sulu woke up from his sleep. He walked over to my bed—I still got too busy when I stood to go over to him. He gave me a smile.

"I'm glad you're alive, P—Chekov."

"I am too . . . Thank you for saving me . . . Mr. Sulu." I had to resist the urge to call him Hikaru. The memories of my dream were still fresh in my mind. _Love. _Was it love?

We were awkwardly silent for a while until Sulu finally stood, giving me a smile. "I hope you'll get better soon. The Bridge is going to be so lonely without you."

I gave a tiny chuckle. "Then I will heal faster. I don't want you lonely."

He grinned and tapped his finger on my nose as he turned away. My cheeks reddened with embarrassment as I stared at him start to walk away. It was a moment until he froze, like he realized what he did, and then he glanced back, cheeks as red as my own. Then I smiled.

A real smile, this time.

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**Thus this is the end! I hope you all enjoyed it. I apologize for the changes of perspectives, although I hope you could keep track of the changes easily. Please give your final review!**


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